The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources which provided details of the proposed process to formalise the procurement of Training and Assessment Providers for the delivery of apprenticeships, which would ensure that the Council had a contract in place with approved providers to deliver one or more occupational LOTs following the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in April 2017.
Decision Made: That
(1) the Head of Corporate Resources be authorised to conduct a tender exercise in accordance with OJEU regulations and the Council’s procurement regulations. The tender exercise is for the procurement of Training and Assessment Providers for the delivery of apprenticeships to run for a period of one year from 1 April 2017 with the option of two further one-year extensions; and
(2) the Cabinet Member - Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Resources be authorised to approve the award of the contract for training and assessment providers for each occupational LOT, following completion of this procurement exercise.
Reasons for Decision:
The way the Government funds apprenticeships was changing from April 2017. The Council would be required to contribute to a new apprenticeship levy and to pay providers directly for apprenticeship training and assessment provision.
The procurement process outlined within the report aimed to create a contract with a number of approved providers who had demonstrated compliance with the Council’s statutory requirements, quality criteria and thus can be invited to submit tender prices for one or more occupational LOTs.
It was recommended that the contract runs for an initial period of 1 year as there was a possibility that additional occupational LOTs may need to be added at a later date, thus giving the flexibility to re-tender this opportunity incorporating all of these additional LOTs after the initial core period of the contract.
The tender exercise would be required to follow an OJEU Procedure, as part of this process.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
None.